Keeping track & lost super

Money Smart
(ASIC)

Find your lost super and get back on track

Your super is your retirement savings, so it's important to know what super accounts you have and how much is in them. Here we explain how to track down lost super, how to consolidate them and how to work out if you have enough super.

How to search for lost super

Have you kept track of all your super? If you've ever changed your name, address, job, or done casual or part-time work, you may have lost track of some of your super.

Smart tip

Look after your super because it needs to look after you in retirement.

You can check your super by registering for the Australian Taxation Office's online services via myGov. This will allow you to:

• see details of all your super accounts, including any you may have lost or forgotten about.
• find ATO-held super, held on your behalf when your super fund, your employer or the government couldn't find an account to deposit your super to.
• consolidate your super into a single fund.

If you have recently opened a super account, it may take up to 6 months to appear on your MyGov account.

You can still consolidate your super by completing a balance transfer form for each super account you want to transfer from and mailing it to your new super fund. See consolidating super funds for more information.

Case study: Christian finds his lost super

Christian had just started his first full-time job after finishing university. He had worked a few casual jobs while studying, but hadn't thought much about his super. His new boss suggested he do a search to find any super he might have lost. Christian had already set up a MyGov account to do his tax return online but hadn't realised he could use the account to track his super.

When he logged on to his MyGov account he could see that he already had two active super funds with a combined balance of $2,500. He was really surprised that he had accumulated this much super from two casual jobs.

When Christian looked into each super fund, he found he was paying fees on both and also had insurance premiums being deducted from each account. He decided to consolidate his super into one account and chose the fund with the better overall long-term investment returns and lower fees. He used the super consolidation tool on the MyGov website to combine them into one fund and then told his employer to pay his super into his chosen fund.

Christian's retirement is a long way off but he knows that getting on top of his super now will put him much further ahead when he eventually retires

How to check your super statement

When you receive your annual super statement, review the information to ensure it's still correct. See checking your super statement for the things to look for.

Find out if you have enough super

We explain how much is enough super but we also have a range of super calculators to help you crunch the numbers:

• Superannuation calculator - check if your super is on track and how fees can affect your super balance.
• Employer contributions calculator - find out how much super your employer should pay into your super account.
• Super and pension age calculator - check when you can access your super and the Age Pension.
• Retirement planner - work out how you can boost your retirement income by taking action.

If you want more money to spend in the future, you need to keep track of your super today. Finding lost super and bringing it all together will save money on fees and make your super easier to manage.